This piece from Trendwatching contains some very valuable information about the future of business and how you can stay relevant by staying informed.

Here are some of the highlights that caught my attention:

Mega-trend of transparency in 2013?

**Brands must move from 'having nothing to hide' to pro-actively showing and proving they have nothing to hide.

**The perfect storm of consumers' ever-greater lust for NEWISM and niches, the expectation of (instantly!) getting jut the right product, ongoing eco-concerns and the desire for more interesting stories will all combine with the spread of new local manufacturing technologiessuch as:

*3D-printing and make-on-demand, to trigger a resurgence in

domestic manufacturing in established markets in 2013

Mobile Moments

**in 2013, consumers will look to their mobile devices to maximize absolutely every moment, multi-if-not-hypertasking their experiences, purchases and communications...

Eco Trend for 2013

**Rather than being discarded or even recycled (by someone else), these products can be given back to nature to grow something new, with all the eco-status and eco-stories

This prezi was created for ActionCamp, a conference to develop and grow the skills of nonprofit professionals, volunteers and board members as it pertains to social media and technology hosted by Action San Antonio.

As YouTube gets ready to make another round of investments into produced content for its video network, Base79, its largest partner in Europe with over 550 million views of its online video content per month, is picking up some investment of its own.

Content curation is about finding the most relevant content about a topic online and listing all the relevant links found on that topic after a thorough research on the web. Here are the benefits of content curation and tips on how to do it well...

"We all have our favourite e-commerce Websites or places that we go to when we want to find new, shiny things to buy.Most of us have accepted that these sites influence us and introduce us to new products and services.

Facebook was seen as one of the most influential players when it came to consumers’ buying decisions, but a recent survey by BizRate Insight has unearthed a brand new development.

Pinterest is influencing buying decisions greater than any other popular forum..."

Samsung may have boasted the official phone of the London 2012 Olympics in the form of the Galaxy S3, but smartphone maker HTC had its time in the spotlight on the outskirts of east London, with co-founder, president and CEO Peter Chou selected to...

The purpose of the discussions was to uncover how content is being conceived, created, used, re-used, published and disseminated within the organization. Is there sufficient sharing and cross-departmental cooperation, ...

How To: Create And Use YouTube Video Content On Your WebsiteBusiness 2 CommunityCreating videos is a popular alternative to writing long-form articles when it comes to featuring your products and services online.

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.